


Behind Closed Doors

by ready_to_kick_some_ass



Series: Adoption AU [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe, Angst, Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kid Jemma Simmons, Kid Leo Fitz, Parent Melinda May, adoption au, childhood AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 13:58:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15730824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ready_to_kick_some_ass/pseuds/ready_to_kick_some_ass
Summary: Jemma was adopted by Melinda May when she was four years old.On her first day of school, she meets quiet and withdrawn Leo Fitz. They get along well and quickly become friends.But one day Jemma notices something about Leo, that changes everything.





	Behind Closed Doors

**Author's Note:**

> Every since I read [buckybear's](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrZebra/pseuds/buckysbears) series ["Let Us Love"](https://archiveofourown.org/series/478165), I had the idea for an adoption au myself.  
> Now I wrote the first part of it and like almost every time, it turned out different than I expected.
> 
> It's the first fic I almost didn't post.  
> And I already think about deleting it. But I'll try not to. 
> 
> Please read the tags!  
> This is basically hurt without much comfort, because it's the set up for the healing afterwards.

It’s a mild warm Monday in September.

6-year-old Jemma restlessly slides around on the passenger’s seat, clutching her schoolbag to her chest.  
May beside her throws slightly amused glances at her excited daughter from time to time. But she has to admit, that she feels slightly nervously herself.  
It’s the first day of school, after all.  
An one-time experience.

When May stops the car in front of the school, they see countless children, standing around, talking to each other or hugging their parents goodbye. The atmosphere is visibly charged with excitement.

Jemma stares out of the window and gulps.  
“But mum,” she whines. “What if no one will like me? Or if the teacher is horrible. Or if …”

“Hey, little bumblebee,” May interrupts her rambling softly, laying a hand on Jemma’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. It will be alright. I promise you will enjoy school. Remember how you were talking about it the whole summer? How you even taught yourself some math? You’re my smart, brave little bee, and you can do this, alright?”

Jemma looks at her, a careful smile spreading on her face.  
“Okay, mum. Um. You’re going to be here when it’s over, aren’t you?”

“Sure. I’m going to be right here, waiting for you. No go, darling. Make some new friends and be good, alright?”

“Okay mum!” Jemma quickly hugs her one last time, then, after a deep breath, opens the door and jumps out of the car. After a last glance over her shoulder, she disappears in the building, with all the other kids.

May looks after Jemma, her heart filled with both joy and the distant pain of change.  
There goes her daughter, who has grown up so quickly.  
May adopted Jemma with four. And now she’s already ten. Time passes by so quickly. Sometimes, it feels like sand that’s trickling through her fingers.

May sighs, starting the car again and driving back home, a single happy tear burning in the corner of her eye.

*

Jemma looks around the classroom nervously.  
She doesn’t know any of the kids.  
They are all already talking to each other, sharing experiences of the summer and musing about their teacher.

The last free chair she sees is beside a boy with curly hair and blue eyes, who stares straight ahead, his face serious and his lips tightly pressed together. He’s wearing a jumper, although it’s quite warm in the room.

After a moment’s hesitation, Jemma walks towards him.  
“Can I sit here?” She asks, when she’s standing beside the table.  

The boy slowly turns his head to look up at her, his eyes widening slightly.  
“Sure,” he mumbles barely audible.

Jemma smiles.  
She lets herself sink down on the chair.  
She offers her hand to the boy.  
“I’m Jemma,” she says. “Jemma Anne May.”

The boy looks at her hand in surprise. But he eventually takes it, squeezing it carefully.  
“Leo,” he mumbles. “Leo Fitz.”

“Nice to meet you Leo,” Jemma says, laying her pencil case on the table. There are animals all over it. Dogs, cats, birds. Even a smiling horse.

Leo stares at it.

“I want to become a vet,” Jemma explains to him, when she notices his glance. “I love animals.”

“I love them too,” Leo breathes. There’s the barely noticeable hint of a smile on his face now.

“Which ones do you love the most?” Jemma asks him curiously.

And soon they are absorbed in a discussion about animals, talking with a natural ease, that only children can muster.

*

As May expected, Jemma comes home from her first day of school cheerful and brimming with new experiences she wants to share with her mother all at once.

May listens, smiling, while also making sure that Jemma actually eats her spaghetti from time to time and not only moves them around on the plate, because she’s too busy talking.

“The teacher, Mrs. Marple, she told me I am smart, because I knew all the answers to the questions she asked,” Jemma explains proudly. “And the boy next to me, Leo, said he loves animals just like I do. And maybe, I told him, we can both become vets and work together. But I will be the boss of course,” she says, waving her fork around.

“Sure bumblebee,” May says. “I’m glad you had a nice day at school. I’m so proud of you.”

“I want to go there every day,” Jemma explains cheerfully.

May laughs.

“Well, that’s the plan. You go to school every day. Except on Saturdays and Sundays.”

“What?!” Jemma’s mouth falls open in shocked surprise. “There’s no school at the weekends? But why?!”

“Oh my busy bumblebee.” May strokes her hair, shaking her head, smiling in amusement. “You soon will appreciate the free days, trust me …”

“I don’t think so,” Jemma mutters doubtfully, but continues to eat her spaghetti.

*

The days pass by quickly.  
Soon, the first week of school is already over.

When she packs her bag after the last lesson on Friday, Jemma feels a bit sad.  
Especially, because she won’t see Leo for two whole days.

She really likes Leo.  
It feels nice to talk to him. It’s fun.  
She thinks they can be friends.  
She never really had a friend before, because she always seems to scare other kids off with her various, apparently not exactly age-appropriate special interests.  
But Leo is different.  
He's interested in everything she wants to talk about with him. He listens. He's a really great listener.  
  
And the next moment, she has an excellent idea.  
She could bring Leo home right? She never brought someone home with her. She bets her mum would be happy about it. And she's sure she would like Leo.  
  
When she and Leo leave the school, she grabs his arm and beams at him.  
“Do you want to visit me at the weekend? I’m sure my mum wouldn’t mind!”

Leo’s eyes widen. He swallows and picks nervously on his jumper. Jemma noticed that he always wears the same, but she doesn’t really wonder about that. Maybe it’s just his favourite.

“Are you sure?” Leo asks.

“Of course. And I could visit you some time? I really would love to meet _your_ mum,” Jemma says cheerfully.

The next moment, Leo’s face darkens. He lowers his head, letting out a stifled noise, that sounds like a sob.  

“Did I say something wrong?” Jemma asks confused.

Leo shakes his head. His hands clench into fists.  
“I … I don’t … My mum. She died last year,” He whispers. “It was a, a car crash.”

“Oh.” Jemma puts a hand over her mouth startled. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, I didn’t want to hurt you, Leo.”

“You didn’t know. I live with my father now,” Leo says, looking down at his feet. He kicks against a stone, which rolls over the street, falling into a drain.

Jemma swallows and bites her lip.  
“I’m adopted,” she reveals then, feeling like Leo might feel better if she tells him. “I was raised in an orphanage until I was four. Now I’m living with my mum. There never was a dad.”    
_I sometimes ask myself how it would be to have one_ , she adds in her mind.

Leo looks at her attentively.  
“Do you like your mum?” He asks quietly.

“Of course!” Jemma says, smiling. “She’s the best. And you? Do you like your dad?”

Leo shrugs.  
“I think so? Sometimes …” He hesitates, looking down at his feet again. “Sometimes he’s a bit difficult and you have to leave him alone, otherwise he gets really really angry.”  
He doesn’t say anymore to this, just keeps looking at his shoes, which are a quite worn out, Jemma notices now. She can see his white sock through a hole in his right shoe.

A moment of silence passes, where neither of them really seems to know what to say.  
But soon Jemma starts to think, that her mum might worry, because she doesn’t come home after school immediately. She really has to go.

“So, do you want to visit me?” She asks Leo carefully.

Leo swallows.  
“If I’m allowed to,” he says shyly.

Jemma beams.  
“I’ll ask my mom!”

*

Autumn turns to winter.  
It’s getting colder. The clouds are heavy and grey. The sun is only a faint white shimmer behind them, not strong enough to breach them.

Leo is now fairly regular at Jemma's home after school.  
Jemma got so used to his company, that she feels lonely and sad when he isn't around.  
And her mom likes Leo too, calling him polite and smart.

But one time, something strange happens.

They are in Jemma’s room, planning their future veterinary practice. It’s quite warm, because Jemma’s mum has turned the heating on, but Fitz is still wearing his usual jumper.

At some point, while they’re talking, he takes it off distractedly, because he’s sweating.

Under the jumper he's wearing a shirt, and Jemma’s eyes fall on his bare pale arms.  
She gasps, when she sees a whole dozen of dark bruises on them. Some look very new, some like they’re a few days old.

Leo looks at her questioningly, but then he seems to understand, because his eyes widen and he quickly turns the jumper back on.  
“I have to go. It’s late,” he mumbles and quickly gets on his feet.

It’s not late at all, Jemma wants to say, but when she opens her mouth, he already has left the room, tumbling down the stairs quickly.

Jemma remains sitting on the floor, not sure what to think or feel. 

*

“Where did you get these bruises from?” Jemma asks Leo bluntly the next day in school. “Did you get into a fight with the older boys?”

She knows that Leo sometimes is bullied by a group of fourth graders, who call him weird and laugh about his clothes.  
But she never saw them getting violent towards him.

“You know that you should tell Mrs. Marple, right? She can tell them to stop, you know?” She stresses.

Leo doesn’t answer her. Instead, he lowers his head until she can’t see his face. He presses his pencil on the paper so strong, that he makes a hole into it.

Jemma doesn’t understand.

But she senses, that he doesn’t want to talk about it, so she leaves him be.

 

It’s silent between them the next days.  
Leo is his quiet and withdrawn self. He now ignores Jemma exactly like he uses to ignore the other people around him.  
  
Jemma is confused and clueless. And maybe a bit hurt, because he acts like she isn’t his friend anymore.  
She really thought they _are_ friends. Good friends even. After all, they want to be vets together, don’t they?  
_Maybe_ , she thinks sadly, _maybe Leo doesn’t want to work with me anymore. Apparently, I did something wrong. I screwed this up and now I lost the first real friend I ever had._

 

A day later, Jemma sees Leo’s father for the first time.  
It’s coincidence.  
Leo never told her where he lives.  
She just finds out that he actually lives only three houses away from hers, because she does the groceries for her mom. For the first time.  
She feels proud, walking down the street, practising her whistling, but suddenly she hears a loud voice, and when she turns around, she sees Leo with a strange man.

The man, who must be Leo’s father, Jemma thinks, is big and looks very angry.  
His eyes are wild and strangely glassy.  
He has an unruly beard and his clothes look dirty.

He yells at Leo, who looks scared and Jemma feels the sudden urge to protect him.

But she’s just a child.

If her mother were with her …  
Jemma’s sure she would kick this man’s ass. Because she knows how to fight. She told Jemma that she kicked the asses of a lot of bad people in the past.  
Her mum is a hero.  
But she isn't. And so she can just watch, biting her lip nervously.

She can’t really understand what the man is yelling, because he has some thick accent, but she thinks she hears the words _useless_ and _always_ and _enough._

Jemma frowns.

She decides that she doesn’t like Leo’s father at all. He doesn’t look nice and he doesn’t sound nice.

And the way, Leo walks into the flat behind his father, his shoulders hunched, his head lowered, makes her heart feel heavy.

She walks the rest of the way with her head hanging.  
She feels sad for Leo. She doesn’t want him to be sad or scared.  
Why is his father so angry?  
  
Suddenly, the bruises on Leo's arms come into her mind again.  
She connects them to the image of the yelling not-nice man and swallows.

*

„Mum?“

„Yes, darling?“

„Can you adopt Leo too?”

May stops eating, she looks up at Jemma, who suddenly looks like she's about to cry.  
She frowns, laying her fork away.  
“But Jemma,” she says carefully. “Leo has a mummy and a daddy already, hasn't he?”

Jemma shakes her head.  
“Only a dad. He … he said his mum died a year ago. And I think … Mum, I think his dad is _bad_.”

“Bad? Why do you think so?”  
May’s skin tingles in alarm. She feels that something about this is very wrong.   

Jemma hesitates. She swallows, looking down on her nearly untouched plate full of beans and potatoes.

“Darling. When you noticed anything strange, something that worries you, you have to tell me,” May softly urges her, laying a hand on Jemma’s arm. “Why do you think Leo’s dad is bad?”

“Um. When you told me to do the groceries, I saw Leo and his dad in front of their house. His father looked angry and Leo looked scared. And, um, when we were playing here the last time, Leo took his jumper off, because it was very warm in the room. And there were a lot of bruises on his arms. He didn’t want me to tell how he got them.”  
She swallows. Then she looks at May seriously.  
“I think,” she says slowly. “His father did this to him. He’s bad, mum. I know it.”

May closes her eyes for a moment.  
_Oh Jemma_ , she thinks. _You really are too smart for your age._  
Bruises …  
Blinding white-hot anger rushes through her.  
Child abuse.  
She isn’t unfamiliar with it.  
  
A long time ago, before she decided to settle down for good, she worked in a special unit of the police. She saw a lot of abused kids. Scared and traumatized. Lost eyes and sad, confused faces.

And often, people noticed too late.

Because sometimes, it’s easier to look away or to think it can’t be so bad, than to accept that a real monster is living in the neighbourhood.  
  
When Leo is in danger, she definitely has to do something.

“Can you bring try to bring Leo along tomorrow?” She asks Jemma. “For dinner? I want to talk to him.”

Jemma nods, sniffing.  
“I can try.”

*

“No.”

“Please Leo. Why won’t you come with me?” Jemma asks desperately. “My mum makes spaghetti today and she said I can bring you along. She wants to talk to you.”

Leo looks at her, his face half hidden behind the door to his home.  
“No,” he says again. “I can’t. I … I have work to do.”  
He looks over his shoulder, then back to Jemma. Suddenly, his eyes fill with fear.  
“Please just go,” he tells Jemma, shaking his head. “It’s not a good day.”

“Not a good day?” Jemma asks confused. „What does this mean? Are you sick?”

“No,” Leo mumbles.

Suddenly, from somewhere in the house, a loud bang can be heard. Then a voice grunts, “Leopold? Where are you?”

It must be his father, Jemma realizes. But he sounds strange. As if he just woke up.  
There's a loud bang somewhere in the house.  
Jemma and Leo both flinch.

Leo glances at her one last time, then he whispers, “Just _go_ ,” and closes the door.

Jemma sighs. She remains standing in front of Leo’s home, biting her lip nervously.  
She waits a few more minutes, but Leo doesn’t come back.  
Finally, Jemma turns around to leave.

That’s when the screams begin.

*

“MUM!”

May flinches, when she hears her daughter scream from the garden. She quickly lets the plate she was drying drop and hurries outside.

Jemma comes running to her, her eyes wide open and full of tears.  
“Mummy, you have to help Leo!”

May hugs Jemma tight, her daughter’s tears soaking her shirt. “Hey bumblebee,” she whispers, “what’s up with Leo?

“I asked him if he can come with me, but he said no, and he closed the door. And … and suddenly he started screaming,” Jemma stammers. "You have to help him, mum!"

May draws in a sharp breath.  
_Oh God.  
It’s already almost too late, isn’t it. _

“Okay,” she says, stroking Jemma’s hair. “Okay. Calm down, darling.”

She takes her phone, calling the police, while still holding Jemma, who’s sobbing helplessly.

*  
  
May calls Bobbi, Jemma’s babysitter, who fortunately arrives in just a few minutes, when May tells her it's an emergencie.  
Then, she hurries to Leo’s home, her heart full of worry and hot anger.

When she arrives at the house, an ambulance is just driving away.  
Three police cars with flashing lights are standing in front of the house.

A policewoman leans against one of them, writing something on the pad in her hands.  

“Is the boy alright?” May asks, before she even reaches the other woman.

The policewoman looks up, frowning when she sees May.  
“Are you related to him?” She asks.

“No,” May says, “But my daughter heard screaming from inside the house. Because of her I called you. Please just tell me if the child’s alright. Me and my daughter worry about him.”

The policewoman sighs, but her eyes get softer. She shakes her head.  
“He was severely beaten and apparently repeatedly choked,” she explains. “He’s brought to a hospital now.”

May swallows.  
“Can you tell me which one?”

The policewoman writes the address on a note and gives it to May.

“Thank you,” May breathes. She turns around, just in time to see how two policemen lead Leo’s father out of the house, in handcuffs. She stares at the man, who’s clearly drunk and mumbling to himself in an angry voice.  
She can’t remember of ever feeling so much hatred for a human being.  
And she has to contain herself, to not show him what she feels with her fists.

*

After May arrives at the hospital and manages to find Leo’s room, there’s a doctor just coming out of it.

“How is he?” May asks worried.

“He has a broken arm and a lot of bruises,” the Doctor says. “But what we worry the most about is his brain. It was without oxygen for too long when he was choked. We think there might be brain damage. His speech and fine motor skills will probably be affected by it. But we can only make further tests, when he wakes up.” He shakes his head sadly, visibly shaken. "This is a shame. I saw a lot of bad things that parents are capable to do to their kids. But this ... who knows what might have happened if the police hadn't been there so fast."

May swallows. She feels a pang of pain in her heart.  
She can’t believe a 10-year-old boy has to go through all these horrors, just because his father decided to be an alcoholic, abusive asshole instead of the responsible adult he would have needed after his mother’s death. And she can’t help but feeling guilty because she didn’t notice anything sooner.  
The boy always has been so serious and thoughtful.  
Withdrawn and careful to not be obtrusive.  
It wasn’t normal.  
  
“Can you call me, when he wakes up and can be visited?” She asks the doctor, who nods.

“We were told by the police, that he apparently has no other living relatives,” he tells May and lets her write her number on a card, he pulls out of his jacket. “So it’s good that there’s someone who cares.” He smiles at her gravely and walks away, scratching his head.

May stares after him, feeling tired with pain, guilt and sadness.

*

When May’s back in her car, she drums a nervous, steady rhythm on the steering wheel with her fingertips.

She remembers Jemma’s words.  
_Mum, can you adopt Leo too?_

 _Why not_ , she carefully asks herself.  
In fact, she has already thought about a brother or sister for Jemma.  
  
_And_ , she thinks, _what will happen to him otherwise?_  
There are no other living relatives, the doctor had said. Then he will probably be handed over to the officials and they will put him in an orphanage for a while until someone turns up some time, to take care of him.  
She shakes her head involuntarily.  
No. She can’t let that happen.  
He will be scared, when he wakes up. Scared and confused. Traumatized. And, if the doctor’s assumptions prove to be right, he will certainly need therapy. When the time after this incident is filled with strange people who treat him like a fragile doll or worse, like an annoying nuisance, he will probably never trust someone again.

 _I can’t let that happen_ , she tells herself again. After a last moment of hesitation, she takes out her phone.  
It’s time to make some calls and remind a few certain people of the favours they owe her.

*

“Will Leo be alright, mum?” Jemma asks her, when she arrives at home, her eyes wide open and red.

May hugs her, pressing a kiss on her head.    
“Hey bumblebee. The doctors will take good care of him, alright? Don’t worry. You did a great job, telling me what was happening, Jemma. You probably prevented worse.”

Jemma swallows.  
“Can I visit him?” She asks hopefully.

May hesitates.  
“We can ask the doctors, when he wakes up, okay?”

“Okay.” Jemma wipes her face. “Is the bad man in prison now?” She asks.

“Yes,” May says, feeling the hot anger in her heart again. “He’s going to be in prison for a long time. He won’t hurt Leo anymore, okay?”

“Okay. But what will happen to Leo now? Where will he go?” Jemma asks sadly. “He can’t live all on his own in his house, can he?”

“No.” May smiles and drops to her knees in front of Jemma, taking her daughter’s face in both hands. “But you know what? I’m going to adopt Leo too.”

Jemma’s eyes widen. Her face lits up and a bright smile makes her eyes sparkle.  
“Really?!” She asks.  

“Yes, bumblebee. Really,” May says.

She feels it's the right thing to do.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not a native speaker and always grateful for being corrected! I'm constantly trying to improve my English, so please don't hesitate to tell me about mistakes. <3
> 
> Visit me on tumblr: [ready-to-kick-some-ass](https://ready-to-kick-some-ass.tumblr.com/) :)


End file.
